Monday, March 2, 2015

Lessons in Leadership from a Follower's Perspective

If we are in education for the right reasons, we are in it
for student achievement. Student success has many twists and turns, but only
one path: through a supportive culture, composed of a dedicated team of
teachers that is supported by a great leader. It always comes back to
leadership. Without a great leader, the life work of a team is in grave danger.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs
29:18

In fact, there is an intimate connection between the life
and work quality of followers and the competence and capacity of the leader. You
can find great definitions of leadership from books like ‘Good to Great,’ by
Jim Collins. There are innovative motivational techniques in Daniel Pink’s ‘Drive,’
and practical take-aways from master works like ‘Leverage Leadership’ by Paul
Bambrick-Santoyo and ‘Teach Like a Champion 2.0,’ by my good friend Doug Lemov.
What this blog entry has will not be better than those works, but it hopes to
give leaders a glimpse into the hearts and minds of us, the followers. Here are
three conditions that help us move (y)our work forward:

1. Our school/office is
a place where we are always valued and appreciated.

2. Your agenda never
outpaces our understanding.

3. Our work’s goals are
clear and progressively attainable.

***

Dear School/Office Leader,

We thrive in a place where leaders know more than just our
names, birthdays and number of dependents. When a leader can tell us the specific
gifts and talents we have to offer and how we can get better at our craft, we know
that leader is invested. The office is a place that honors our humanity when it
is hard to tell who the favorites are, but easy to see where everyone fits on the
team. We feel appreciated and valued when we are brought to the table for
decisions that directly impact us; when we are allowed space to substantively
disagree without expecting a return serve of condescension and when our ideas
can also be the solutions to problems that affect us all. When you just care to
know how your leadership makes us feel, we truly get a view into a servant’s
heart.

Our worth is best answered with these two questions: do your
expectations empower or crush us? Do you truly care either way?

There is one clear way we know your commitment to teamwork –
you never forget the power of teaching. The vision for our work, ambitious
though it may be, is never out of our conceptual reach because you constantly
take the time to make it plain for us. Make it sing for us. Make it lead for
us. Make it bleed for us. You make the goals for our work so living, tangible
and important by the sheer consistent way you help us see them. And when we cannot
see them clearly, you do not make them more complex. You simply give us new
lenses and patiently wait for us to see it as you see it. As a seasoned leader,
however, you do understand that there are things related to student achievement
that cannot wait and so those priorities are addressed. However, you care
enough for us and for the meaning we get from being a part of something
greater, to go as fast you can or as slow as you need to so that we arrive at
the finish line together. We never confuse your agenda with our own, because
you lead in such a way that it is clear that you believe your vision cannot be
accomplished without ours.

We work best when leaders are absolutely clear and deathly
serious about student and teacher transformation. We will run through walls for
leaders who model the mental sacrifice necessary to create the infrastructure
for teacher growth and student progress; and who take the time to collaborate
with us on ways we can maximize the life chances of every student. And as we
pass each sign on the highway of progress, you keep raising the bar and providing
the ladder to reach it. You realize that teaching is not easy and that there
are a multitude of variables and personalities that affect each and every
learning experience. We need so much from you. And in return we offer you so
much of us.

Thank you for leading. Thank you for listening.

Sincerely,

Your teachers/followers

P.S. I need a leader too. I need a leader who looks like me.
If I can’t get that, I’ll settle for a leader that fights for me. A leader that
won’t let me perish because my parents don’t make it to school. A leader who’ll consider the consequences of
my suspension for violations that endanger no one. A leader who will read me
the riot act, and in the next breath read me my future. A leader that knows
that I have only one chance to get it right – or my life won’t graduate. I need
a leader who loves me, without condition.

Sincerely,

Your ‘At-Risk’ Black boy

***

Earlier, I stated that it always comes back to leadership
and it does. The coda to that statement, however, is that every great leader
knows that it always comes back to the people. The followers make the work
happen. If you are so fortunate to be able to hire the right people, for the
right spots on the bus, right away – then you have little need of any more
advice. But, if you are like any other leader who makes the right hire only
most of the time, then you understand that the culture you create by valuing
the perspectives, lives and potential of your subordinates is the best way to
move the agenda of student achievement forward.